


Kit From The Black Lagoon

by antigrav_vector, Quarra



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Cody's vod'e give him migraines, Competency Kink, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fix-It, Flirting, Fluff, Fox being a BAMF, Fox is also great and deserves more love, Humor, It's probably a Meet-Ugly actually, Kit being a BAMF, Kit is great and deserves more love, Kit's pet triops, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mistaken Identity, Non-Graphic Gore, Pet Names, Social Anxiety, Some bad language, The clone troopers may also think that Kit is probably a sex worker, The clone troopers think Kit is very attractive, Thirsty vod'e, What if Kit was kidnapped from the Temple as a crecheling?, halloween fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27271906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antigrav_vector/pseuds/antigrav_vector, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quarra/pseuds/Quarra
Summary: A monster was stalking the lowest levels of Coruscant’s underworld, leaving a trail of dead bodies in its wake. When Commander Fox called in Monnk’s SCUBA company to help suss out the culprit, he did not expect to end that adventure with a new and very cuddly boyfriend.
Relationships: Kit Fisto/CC-1010 | Fox
Comments: 51
Kudos: 263





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Quarra: Listen. _Listen_. This is a crack fic based on the idea that Kit is the creature from the Black Lagoon and he seduces Fox after Fox accidentally seduces him. We could have gone with something Seriously Creepy in keeping with Halloween. But instead we did this. Enjoy :)
> 
> Note from Grav: So, uhhh, I feel I _need_ to link [this video](https://imgur.com/1RRzPDb.mp4) because it basically spawned this whole fic. This is totally the happy tentacle curl we imagined. You'll know it when you see it.

\--- POV: Commander Fox ---

It was not that Fox wasn’t grateful for Monnk’s company of scuba troopers. He was. They were specifically trained to do the sort of underwater combat that Fox and the rest of the Coruscant Guard had sorely needed to deal with their little creature problem. 

The sector of the lower levels that the Guard affectionately had dubbed ‘The Black Lagoon’ had experienced a rapid exodus. Sentients were fleeing to the upper levels of the city in droves. Eyewitnesses had said that something was coming up out of the deep waters hidden under the highrises, and it was killing people. Brutally. Thus, it had been kicked up to the Coruscant Guard to deal with. Fox had called in support from the aquatic division of the GAR when it had become apparent that they were dealing with something in the water.

No. Fox’s issue with Monnk’s company was more the fact that Monnk was going to _drive him absolutely insane_.

“Come on, _vod’ika_ ,” Monnk said laughingly through the comms in their buckets. “What’s a little bait and switch between _Vod’e_?”

“Considering that I’m the ‘bait’, it’s a big karking deal!” Fox snarled out as he narrowly escaped getting caught between the jaws of some kind of unholy hybrid between a deep trench angler whale and a woodchipper, a last minute twist of his torso all that kept his arm attached to his shoulder. 

Even though every clone had some aquatic training, and command clones got more of it than most troopers, he hadn’t had a chance to get in any solid experience with that sort of equipment since he’d left Kamino. The fins on his boots felt more awkward than graceful, and the oxygen filtration pack on his back was weirdly cumbersome. 

Monnk and his troops had no such issues. 

It made sense that they would be the ‘switch’ portion of the ‘bait and switch’.

But that didn’t mean that Fox appreciated being set up as some giant mutant fish’s lunch.

Fox opened fire on the thing, joining the blaster barrage that Monnk and a squad of his troops were already a part of. 

“What the kriff is this thing made out of?” Thorn bitched over the comms.

“Keep the lines clear!” Fox snapped back, probably unfairly since he and Monnk had just been sniping at each other. 

Whatever. Monnk wasn’t under his command. Thorn was. 

Thorn, that snarky bitch, just laughed him off. One day they were all going to drive Fox right out of his mind.

“He’s got a point, _vod’ika_ \--” Monnk said.

“I am older than you!” Fox sometimes hated working with other companies. 

“-- this thing is soaking up fire like it’s a career choice.”

Damn them, but they were right. The creature thrashed and twisted in the water. The blaster fire was having _some_ kind of effect. Despite the sheer number of shots the thing was taking, there wasn’t a drop of blood in the water, though, and all their hits just seemed to piss it off more.

As awful as these things were, they couldn’t be what had left all the bodies up on dry land. Whatever had done _that_ could walk, and these things only had fins. 

“ _Kriff_ ,” Fox muttered. 

Blaster fire wasn’t doing jackshit. 

He dropped his rifle, letting it hang from his torso by the sling he’d wrapped around his chest. Then he took out his vibroblade. He liked his longer than regulation; the blade almost qualified as a short sword. While it was tempting to say that he kept a knife that long just for missions like this one, even he thought that fighting sea monsters in the deep waters under the Coruscant hive city surface was a bit far fetched an excuse. 

Truthfully, he just liked blades.

“Fox. Fox, _no_.” Monnk sounded worried. How cute. 

Fox gauged the thrashing of the monster and timed his attack. The second he saw an opening, he swam in as quickly as he could and grabbed one of the creature's spines. 

That was as rough a ride as he’d expected. Somewhere in the background, Monnk was screaming at them all to hold their fire. Fox appreciated that.

After a few moments of being violently tossed around, Fox managed to hit his target. He slammed his vibroblade right into the creature’s milky eye.

It _screamed_. 

Oh, kriffing sith-hells, that sound pierced Fox’s head and went straight into his soul. That was not a natural sound. It felt like a psychic projection of the essence of pain. 

Fox held on. _How_ he managed that, even he had no idea. Something about that pain was as familiar as his bucket. Because of that, deep down he knew that he could endure it. He didn’t have the focus to think about that; all of his attention was set on _killing this thing_.

His lungs burned as his oxygen system struggled to keep up with his labored breathing. The creature thrashed harder; death throes, he hoped. Soon enough, he lost his hold on the spine. Then he was hanging off the handle of his vibroblade only while his body whipped around as the monster tried to dislodge him.

Just as suddenly as the scream had started, it stopped. 

The monster floated dead in the clouded water. Ichor pumped out of it, making it difficult to see even with his HUD helping. 

“You crazy kriffing bastard,” Monnk said over the otherwise deadly silent comm frequency. 

“Don’t talk about my decanting tube that way,” Fox muttered. Kark, his head hurt. 

And his vibroblade was stuck. Because of course. 

He braced both knees on either side of the blade and pulled. The massive round eye that the blade was embedded in squished at the contact and more ichor shot out of the wound. 

Kriffing nasty. Ugh. 

_Need a hand?_

Fox flinched away and tried to find out where the kriff that voice had come from. Then he realized that it was _in his head_. 

He kept one hand on his knife hilt, anchoring himself in place, while he tried to wave some of the cloudy water away. He couldn’t see a karking thing. 

As much as he wanted to go straight to panic-mode, he got no instinctive sense of danger around him. Weirdly, he got the feeling of safety instead. That was suspicious as _kriff_ and only put him further on edge.

“Please tell me that the rest of you heard that,” Fox said.

“Heard what?” Monnk asked. 

_Kriff_.

Something wrapped around his hand, the one on the hilt of his blade, and pulled. A second later, his knife was free and he was swimming as fast as he could for where his HUD said that Monnk was. Even with the water being clouded as sith-hells, their all wore trackers with location data that appeared on the display. Thank kriff. 

“Something grabbed my hand. And I heard someone talking,” Fox said, knowing and deeply regretting how karking crazy he sounded.

He finally cleared the clouded water. Monnk and several troopers floated nearby with their blasters ready and pointed at the miasma of ichor.

“...You alright there, _vod_?” Monnk asked. “No nitrogen narcosis? No breaks in your suit?”

“I know what nitrogen narcosis feels like, go kark yourself,” Fox grumbled. 

The blackened water slowly swirled around as the carcass of the creature drifted in place. Fox could just barely make out its outline.

 _There was something else in there with it_.

“Tell me you see that,” Fox said in a low snarl, gesturing towards the movement in the cloud.

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Monnk said, and readied his blaster to fire.

 _Peace_ , the voice in Fox’s head said. From the way the rest of the _Vod’e_ jerked in place, they heard it too this time. _Peace, friends. I mean only to help_.

“Uhhhhh, Commander?” Thorn asked. “Did you make a friend?” The words were only half teasing.

The sensation of laughter floated through Fox’s mind, happy and bright. It had a taste and a texture associated with it too. Something like _smooth_ and _sweet_. Fox tried very hard not to think on that.

 _I hope we will be friends_ , the mental voice said. There was an implication in those words, layers of meaning that were just barely alluded to, but were gone too quickly for him to grasp. _Especially since your killing of this Darkling caused it to sound an alarm. There are more on their way._

“ _What?!_ ” Monnk sounded like Fox felt. Un-kriffing-happy.

Sure enough, a faint echo trembled through the water from somewhere deep below them.

It sounded angry. 

The twisting figure in the cloudy water slowly moved towards them. The first thing that Fox noticed was the shining white of teeth in a human-sized smile. That resolved itself into a very handsome green face. The being was mostly humanoid in shape, except instead of hair, its head was a tangle of large, smooth, gently writhing tentacles, and its skin was a lightly dappled green color. Its eyes were larger than a human’s, and solid black.

A nautolan. 

Oh kriff, a mostly naked nautolan. He, very clearly a _he_ , wore only the barest excuse for clothing. Sith-hells, the nautolan’s belt covered up more than that scrap of fabric did. 

“...Did we miss a critical training module on nautolan culture?” Thorn asked quietly. “Do they just… not cover up… anything besides their midriffs?”

“No, we attended every module. But this _definitely_ never came up,” Monnk said.

Fox rolled his eyes. “For kriff’s sake, have you two never seen a hooker before? Besides, his thong covers all the important bits. It’s not that risqué.”

The snorts of laughter and disbelief were interrupted by that mental voice.

_Hello there!_

The nautolan waved at them with his free hand. The other held some kind of slab of metal with a handle. Now that the being had drifted out of the cloud, Fox could see that the implement was nearly as long as the nautolan was tall. It looked sharp.

That worrying, angry echo from below was coming closer. Fox would have to deal with that soon. 

Wow, the nautolan had a nice smile.

_Hmmm, you all should stay close to each other. We’ll need to retreat. Follow me._

The next half-hour was astonishingly terrifying. Given that Fox was Commander of the Coruscant Guard and regularly had to deal with Chancellor Palpatine and the Senate _and_ Coruscant underworld crime, that was really saying something.

A whole damn swarm of those monster fish had risen up from the depths and attacked. Every single _vod_ there should have died. _One_ of those creatures had nearly taken out all of them. A dozen or more of its friends made for a certified death sentence.

Or they would have, if the nautolan hadn't been there. It turned out that the giant slab of metal was what he was using as a sword. How the kriff he was even able to swim with it, Fox had no idea, but with it he was able to cleave those damn things right in two. And he was doing it all mostly naked.

Fox would have been ridiculously turned on if he weren’t fleeing for his life.

The _Vod’e_ swam for the nearest shore and the nautolan swam circles around their group, herding them in the right direction and protecting them at the same time. 

By the time they were scrambling up onto land, most of the creatures were dead. The few that remained were too large to properly swim in the shallows. Fox could just barely see the shadows of them in the water. Every once in a while one would snap at the surface. Kark, they had a lot of teeth.

The nautolan followed them up onto dry land, or what passed for it here deep under the city’s hive of highrises. The ground was metal, and large pillars that supported the above structures were everywhere. There wasn’t much in the way of light, but a couple of the troopers had turned on the torches attached to their buckets; that was more than enough light to see by, given their enhanced vision.

“Are all of you alright?” the nautolan asked. 

Oh snap, and then he was right up in Fox’s personal space, running his hands over his arms and legs.

“Uh…” Fox would have pushed him off, but the being had just saved their hides. 

Snickering echoed over the general comm frequency for the commanders. Fox shot a glare at Thorn and Monnk. They all still had their buckets on. That didn’t matter in the slightest. They would get the point.

“You need to get this off of you. Their blood is corrosive.” 

Oh. Oh, the nautolan was wiping the ichor off, not feeling him up.

Or both. No, yeah, he was definitely doing both.

As weird as it was, it was kind of nice. Fox didn’t get a lot of positive touch in his daily life. The Coruscant Guard were isolated from the rest of the GAR, both by their location and duty as military police. As their Commander, Fox was even more alone. It was better that way. He could protect his _Vod’e_ best if he held himself back and put himself in between them and whatever banthashit that the Chancellor could throw at them.

So even though it was embarrassing as sith-hells, the nautolan’s attention was… pretty pleasant, too.

“Oh, I think you need a hug,” the nautolan said.

And like that, Fox was hauled over to a fallen duracrete block, pushed down to sit on it, and had acquired a very sexy, very cuddly nautolan in his lap. 

Thorn was leaning over with how hard he was laughing. The rest of the shinies in their squad didn’t risk it; they knew that Fox’s inevitable retribution wasn’t to be taken lightly. 

Before Fox could start to bitch them all out, Monnk was sitting down next to him.

“Hi there, friend,” he said, projecting his voice out of his helmet. 

“Hi!” Wow, that really was a nice smile.

Fox was not staring. And even if he was, no one could see his face under his helmet. 

Those arms around him felt really strong. Kark, they’d have to be to lift that parody of a sword. 

“What’s your name, gorgeous?” Monnk asked. He held out his hand, maybe to wave or shake hands with the nautolan. 

The gesture was clearly misunderstood, because the nautolan shoved his head into Monnk’s hand, like he was asking for pets. 

Monnk froze for a moment, and then started gently scritching along the base of the nautolan’s head tentacles.

“Oh. _Oh_ , keep doing that,” the nautolan murmured. He didn’t, however, let go of Fox; a fact that Fox was weirdly happy about. 

The nautolan’s head tentacles curled up at the ends and he leaned harder into Monnk’s hand, pulling Fox along with him. A soft, happy smile curled across his face and his large black eyes went half-lidded. 

“My name is Kit,” the nautolan said. “What are your names?”

“I’m Monnk. That’s Fox.” Monnk waved at Fox, then started pointing out the rest of the troops. Several of whom were sure to be recording this on their HUDs. Force kriff it. “That’s Thorn, Shiv, Tay, Blast, Dove, and Ka’ra.”

“Who are you all?” Kit asked dreamily. If nautolans could purr like tookas, then Fox was sure that Kit would be. 

“We’re part of the GAR. Fox, Thorn, and Dove are members of the Coruscant Guard.”

“The who-what now?” Kit blinked at him.

Fox and Monnk exchanged a look. This had the unfortunate side effect of making the scritching stop. Kit nudged at Monnk’s hand.

Fox was not jealous. He wasn’t.

“Don’t worry, you’re still my favorite,” Kit said sweetly, and gave Fox a squeeze.

Thorn sounded like he was dying over the comms. 

“...Thanks,” Fox said, setting his mic to project outside his bucket. 

“You can take off your face covering things. The air is breathable here.” Kit looked at Fox with wide, hopeful eyes. 

Kark. Fox hated taking off his bucket. Especially when there were people other than just the _Vod’e_ around. 

“Please?” Kit’s eyes got wider and that charming smile was back again.

“Oh Force, do it, Commander, you _have_ to,” Thorn said over the squad’s frequency.

Fox was going to murder them all. Just as soon as Kit was off of his lap. Later. 

Kit started stroking his shoulder, as if petting him.

“You seem really tense. Would a kiss help?” Kit asked.

“Yes. Yes, it would,” Monnk said, that karking asshole. 

“You kriffing--” Fox muttered, reaching for his vibroknife again. Kit’s hug tightened and kark if Fox couldn’t damn move. At all. Kark, how strong _was_ this guy?

Fox turned his attention to Kit. 

“Listen. Kit? I’m flattered, I am,” he started.

Kit nodded knowingly, and there was more than a bit of smugness in that smile now. 

Fox took a breath and barreled on. Despite how his _Vod’e_ were cackling.

“But I don’t need a kiss,” he finished.

“Hmmm. Debatable,” Kit said, shrugging. “The question is, do you _want_ one?”

Kind of yes. 

Dammit. 

“Monnk, get Cody over here. Maybe his general can help our… friend.” Fox ground out. 

“General?” Kit blinked at him. “Like in an army?”

The snickering was back over the comms. Fox took a deep, calming breath.

“Yes. That’s what GAR stands for. Grand Army of the Republic,” he explained. “I’m not sure how you missed that…” Nope. The truth was that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to know. He had enough nightmares in his brain. That memory box was _full_. 

Monnk took off his bucket despite the warning glare that Fox shot him. Sure, Kit _seemed_ nice, and he _had_ just saved their collective asses, but that didn’t mean that they should lower their guard.

“Oh, aren’t you a handsome one?” Kit purred in approval at Monnk’s newly-bared face.

Monnk had on a shit eating grin. “If you like how I look, you’re gonna love the rest of us.”

A few of his company took off their buckets as well. Kit’s eyes got wider with every new reveal.

“Why do you all look so similar?” He blinked at them in confusion. “You feel different.”

What the kriff was that even supposed to mean?

“Aw, honey, you’ve only had a chance to feel up Fox,” Monnk said with a leer. “You could come try my lap.”

Fox did his _vod_ the kind service of punching him in his arm, not his face. He knew how damn hard he could hit, though. Monnk would be sporting a bruise under his armor.

When that only seemed to make Monnk snicker more, Fox began to reevaluate his target.

That plan of action was completely derailed when Kit visibly drooped. 

“What’s wrong?” Fox asked. 

He wasn’t worried. He was just… gathering information.

“You’re fighting, and then you stopped scratching my head.” Kit’s eyes were so large and dark and sad looking that Fox almost karking grabbed Monnk’s hand and shoved it onto Kit’s head to make sure he got back to it.

Then he nearly slapped _himself_ , because what the kriff was he thinking? Given where the kark they were, Kit _probably_ wasn’t a sex worker. (No matter the fact that he was hitting on Fox like he was one. No one hit on Fox. He was too dour and he knew it. It made his job easier.) But on the off chance that Kit _was_ just soliciting a little fun from a Guard in order to get off the hook for… whatever the kriff he was doing down here in the Black Lagoon… aside from killing giant mutant fish with a unfeasibly large sword…

Fox lost his train of thought, because Monnk had gone back to scritching Kit’s head and the tips of Kit’s head tentacles had started to curl up in that unfairly adorable way again. 

Shit, Fox needed to get laid. Maybe he _should_ find a friendly hooker. He’d never been interested in them before, but then again, he’d never seen anyone outside of the Jedi Order take on enemies like Kit had and walk away. Or swim away, per today. 

That kind of skill and strength was hitting all kinds of buttons that Fox didn’t know that he had. 

The snickering over the comms was getting to be annoying.

He dragged his mind back on track.

“What do you know about the murders happening around here?” he asked.

“Mmmpfh? Which ones?” Kit asked dreamily.

Oh, Fox did not like that answer. He also couldn’t say that he didn’t expect it, though. This was Coruscant. Only tourists thought it was a nice place. 

“Here in the Black Lagoon. Lots of bodies. They’re scaring off the locals,” Fox verbally prodded. 

He tried very hard to ignore how Kit had all but plastered himself to the armor he'd cleaned off with his bare hands a couple of minutes ago. That couldn’t have been comfortable. Even if it was stupidly sexy.

A soft, fluttering chirp rumbled out of Kit’s throat. Definitely a nautolan’s version of a happy purr. Wow. Things Fox hadn't known that he needed to know.

Kit’s eyes were almost closed with pure bliss from Monnk’s scratching. Still, he didn’t move away from his full body hug of Fox. “Mmmmm,” he said lazily. “There’s always deaths. I try to keep the Darklings contained, if not destroyed, but their numbers have steadily grown in the last year.” 

“Shit,” Thorn muttered. 

Yeah. That wasn’t good news. 

“Monnk,” Fox started.

“Yeah, I’m on it. I’ll get Cody and General Kenobi over here, ASAP.” Monnk waved a hand at him. “Sorry, gorgeous, but I need my hand back for a bit. I need to see where we are and get some reinforcements.”

Kit let out a sad sigh, but didn’t argue.

He did, however, look up hopefully at Fox.

Fox stared at him. Shit. He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t. It was probably taking undue advantage of… of… whatever Kit’s situation was. Fox was on duty. There were troops right here with him, observing, and probably recording too, those assholes.

A tiny, imploring chirp warbled up out of Kit’s throat. 

_Kriff_.

_Kriffity kriff kriff kriff **kriff** covered in kriff sauce._

He sighed and started scritching at the base of Kit’s head tentacles.

The answering hug he got nearly crushed his damn ribs. Were all nautolans this strong? He had no idea. 

As Kit nuzzled up into the crook of his neck, Fox contemplated how his life had gotten to this point.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- Mando’a Glossary ---
> 
>  **Di'kut** \- n. idiot; plural: di'kut'e  
>  **Dini'la** \- adj. insane
> 
>  **Jare'la** \- adj. stupidly oblivious of danger, asking for it
> 
>  **Or'dinii** \- n. fool; moron  
>  **Osik** \- dung (impolite)
> 
>  **shabuir** \- n. jerk, but a lot stronger; an extreme insult  
>  **Shebs** \- n. Buttocks; plural: shebse
> 
>  **Vod** \- n. gender neutral word for brother/sister; plural: Vod'e  
>  **Vod’ika** \- n. little brother/sister; plural: vod'ike


	2. Chapter 2

\--- POV: Commander Cody ---

Actually following through on the desire to bash his bucket against the nearest wall would be counterproductive, and Cody knew it.

That didn't eliminate the urge, though.

Taking a steadying breath and letting it slowly back out, Cody unmuted his comm. "You're trying to tell me," he said through gritted teeth, "that you disobeyed orders, took a dive into the depths of the Black Lagoon because you had a _karking hunch_ , nearly got eaten by mutant angler whales four times--"

"It might've been five," Monnk admitted, when he paused, trying in vain to find the words to express the next bit.

Kark, he was going to have a cluster migraine by the time he got to his _dini'la vod'ike_ , at this rate.

"-- nearly got eaten five times, and then got rescued by a nautolan that appeared out of nowhere and kept your _shebse_ from becoming kriffing fish food."

"Sounds about right," Monnk agreed, not a single gram of shame in his voice. "You left out the cuddles, though, sir."

Cody felt the muscles in his jaw clench and had to consciously remind himself not to grind his teeth. Helix had been on his case about that again recently.

"The cuddles. Right," he managed to get out. "Is Fox still being cuddled?"

"He is, sir," Monnk said, pleased, and Cody could hear his _vod'ika_ 's smirk. "He doesn't seem too happy about it, though, which is just weird."

"Monnk," Cody snapped, "tell the extremely lost sex worker to let Commander Fox go about his duties, and quit screwing around. You two _di'kut'e_ and your men should be assisting in the search, not entertaining hookers."

Monnk had the durasteel balls to laugh at him. "But, sir, we've found the alleged monster. There's no need to keep searching. Just come pick us up, and I'll prove it. Kit's no monster though. Pretty sweet, actually, even if his taste in _Vod'e_ is a bit questionable. He's the one that kept us from getting eaten."

Deciding it wasn't worth the continued aggravation that would send his blood pressure skyrocketing, Cody gave in. "Fine. We'll try it your way. But if you're wrong, _vod'ika_ , there'll probably be a court martial in your future that I won't be able to protect you from. Coordinates?"

"We're on the beach south of the spacer cantina on Fintier Island, you can't miss us," Monnk told him, then signed off with a very correct salute.

Pulling off his bucket with a groan to run his hands through his hair, Cody took a few more deep breaths.

"Everything alright, Commander?" General Kenobi asked him, looking up from the data pad in his hands.

"Commanders Fox and Monnk claim to have found the monster, and that it's not a monster," he answered. "In the process they disobeyed direct orders, nearly got themselves killed, and are now apparently being cuddled by the monster that isn't a monster, which seems to be either a nautolan sex worker or one incredibly convoluted case of mistaken identity."

General Kenobi huffed at him, amused. "So, your average Centaxday, then."

"Fox and Monnk are going to get an average dressing down," Cody growled, making Kenobi chuckle.

It was such a nice sound that he almost forgave Fox for the whole mess.

Almost.

"Well," his General said, standing up and straightening his robes, "shall we go retrieve them? I assume that's why they called you in the first place."

"It is," Cody said and pinched at the bridge of his nose. "Apparently they ended up on Fintier Island."

"That's--" Kenobi looked surprised.

"On the other side of the Black Lagoon from our position, yes, General." Cody watched Kenobi's eyebrows shoot up.

"How in the name of the Force did they get there so fast without a speeder?"

"If we're to believe the story, the very lost sex worker rescued them and brought them to that beach. Apparently they then decided Commander Fox was in a bad mood because of his ordeal, which included nearly getting killed about five times, and needed to be comforted."

General Kenobi gave him a look that said he didn't believe the story either. "That many near-death experiences, and all they're doing is cuddling? Something about that doesn't quite add up."

Right. That _would_ be what Kenobi picked up on first.

"Do give us some credit for professionalism in the face of certain doom," Cody implored. "It would be rude to ask that of any sex worker, let alone one that was in the same danger as they were. Even if that being -- kark, I didn't even get a full name out of Monnk, that kriffing slacker -- did save their lives, they're still a civilian."

With another bemused shake of his head, Kenobi led him out of their shared field office. It wasn't much better than a tent, but it did offer a little bit of privacy. They walked in silence for a minute or so as they made their way over to the small cluster of speeders available to them for use during this manhunt.

"Do you think we need to bring a squad with us, Cody?"

Cody bit down on a wince. On the one hand, Fox and Monnk were both very competent fighters and deadly shots. On the other, his General had a tendency to attract all manner of blasterfire no matter the situation.

Not to mention that, the more witnesses he had to Fox getting propositioned by that sex worker that they'd managed to produce out of thin air (or should it be water?), the better. "It probably wouldn't go amiss, General," he agreed, and put his bucket back on so he could call his second-in-command. "Waxer?"

"Yes, sir?" his Lieutenant answered promptly.

"Which of Ghost's squads are currently on base and available? General Kenobi and I need a few men to accompany us to retrieve a group of misplaced _Vod'e_."

"Spectre squad is available, Commander," his second answered. "I trust you and the General haven't left the base yet, right, sir?"

"No, we haven't, but we're about to. Have them report to the speeder lot ASAP," Cody demanded. "We're green, the moment they're here."

"Sir, yes sir! Spectre's ETA is two minutes."

True to Waxer's word, under two minutes later, the requested squad had formed up in front of them and saluted sharply.

Kenobi nodded, and turned to the speeders. "Half of the squad is with me, the other half with the Commander. We'll take separate speeders."

"What's our destination, General?" Gearshift, their squad leader, inquired. "And what should we expect when we get there?"

"Cody?" Kenobi prompted him.

"We're going to retrieve Commanders Fox and Monnk and a squad of their troopers. No expected hostiles. The rendezvous point they gave us is on Fintier Island," he summarised quickly. "They claim to have found the alleged killer, and that it's actually a civilian with no connection to the case."

Gearshift nodded, and turned to his squad. He didn't need to say a word; the nine of them simply saluted and distributed themselves as requested.

Under ten seconds later, they were underway, and Cody could only hope that Monnk's assessment of the situation was right.

If it wasn't...

Cody tried to make himself focus on flying the speeder but only ended up thinking about that instead. General Kenobi often piloted like he thought everyone else around him also had access to the Force and could literally thread a needle with whatever they flew. After all -- Cody had no doubt -- Kenobi could. And Kenobi also had the utmost faith in his men.

Which -- it had to be said -- also spurred them on to ever greater heights of competence, just so that they could live up to their General's image of them.

But there were some things that were simply beyond a clone trooper.

Realising that the trip had flown by in more than just the literal sense, Cody shook the thoughts off. They were coming up on the rendezvous point that Monnk had given them. Fintier Island had something of a misleading name. Most sentients, when they heard it, imagined sand and surf and sun. That was about as far from the reality as possible, really. The place was a section of the Coruscant hive city that might as well be underground for how deep down it was, and there was no natural light at all. What illumination there was came from their buckets' infrared cameras and a few light fixtures that miraculously still worked.

The area had been abandoned by anyone with the means to leave long ago, and as such, the beings still living in the area were, by and large, poor enough not to care that half of the "island" was rubble and the other half was decaying. Even the Coruscanti criminal underworld barely bothered with the place, except when they needed an abandoned building to hole up in, or something else of that nature. There was no profit to be made, here.

Which had made the sudden appearance of multiple dead bodies with gruesome injuries incredibly suspicious. The Guard was treating this as a serial murder case but Cody personally had his doubts that that was what really lay behind the appearances of the bodies.

Even so, he _had_ expected Monnk and Fox to behave themselves. The pair of them were karking Commanders in the GAR. Not just members of some civilian police force. The fact that they'd supposedly gotten nearly killed and then rescued by what sounded like a nautolan hooker, and then not bothered to at least come up with a convincing cover story was... Cody didn't have the words for it.

Appalling.

Yes. That worked.

As he finished the thought, a beacon lit up on his HUD, pinpointing the location of the _Vod'e_ they'd come out here to retrieve.

"I've got them on my scopes, General," he reported, glad he wasn't actually the commanding officer on the scene.

"Lead the way, then, Cody," Kenobi requested, letting him pull ahead.

The scene that met his eyes when they pulled up made Cody want to groan.

Stomping down harshly on the urge, he turned to Fox and simply waited.

"Marshall Commander Cody, sir," he greeted, expression deadpan but voice sounding put upon, "I'm being held captive and emotionally blackmailed, sir."

Fox never did disappoint where it came to formality and succinct reports. "And yet you've failed at extricating yourself, Fox," he observed.

His _vod'ika_ was very thoroughly tangled up in what Cody assumed was the nautolan Monnk had mentioned. There seemed to be far more limbs and head tentacles attached to the being than Cody was used to seeing on a nautolan, but that might've been because all of them were moving. It looked like a squirming ball of sea snakes had decided to grab onto Fox, who was missing his bucket and had one hand buried in the mass of head tentacles, doing _stars knew what_.

General Kenobi stepped up beside him and took in the scene, an amused snort escaping him. "Alright, Commander Monnk, what exactly is going on here?"

Monnk stepped forward, his posture parade-ground correct, and saluted. "General Kenobi, sir. Would you prefer the short version or the long version?"

"Both, I think. Start with the short version, and introduce me to Commander Fox's new friend, there," Kenobi requested.

The sound of the General's voice got the nautolan to uncurl a little, and Cody felt something like a sense of curiosity wash over him, right before he was pinned down by a pair of piercingly intelligent black eyes set in a handsome face.

"There are _more of you_?" The hooker asked Fox, grinning broadly.

Kenobi did a double take, when he got a glimpse of the nautolan's face and heard him speak. "Kriffing sith-hells," he muttered. "It _can't_ be."

"Can't be what, General?" Monnk asked, diverted.

Kenobi ignored him, too, holding up a hand in a gesture that requested Monnk wait a moment. "Kit?" He asked, voice held carefully level. "Is that you, old friend?"

"I know you from somewhere, don't I?" The nautolan responded, sounding intrigued. "You feel... familiar."

Commander Monnk went still, surprise in the line of his shoulders and tilt of his bucket. "You know Kit, General?"

"You... You're Obi-Wan," the nautolan said, sounding like he was tasting the way the name felt on his tongue, then smirked. "You were a lot smaller, last time I saw you."

General Kenobi rolled his eyes and held out a hand that Kit eagerly took, letting Kenobi peel him away from Commander Fox.

Fox looked conflicted over it, too, which was exactly what the karking _or'dinii_ deserved, if you asked Cody. That and more. But it was the kind of conflicted that read as I-shouldn't-want-it-back-but-I-do and Cody had to refrain from groaning once more. If his _jare'la Vod_ had gone and karking gotten a crush on a sex worker -- no, wait, if General Kenobi had known him as a cadet, that meant Kit had to be -- oh _kriff_.

"Well, yes," General Kenobi said, as Cody suffered through that particular epiphany, "we were crèche mates until the day you simply karking vanished."

"But I didn't go missing. My master took me on as a padawan and we went on a really long mission," the nautolan -- Kit, put in.

Kenobi stared at him in what Cody was sure was disbelief. "I am incredibly certain that that was in _no way_ an authorised mission, Kit."

Fox swore a blue streak under his breath. "Someone managed to kidnap a padawan, and the case was never resolved?" He demanded, his voice holding more than a hint of a demand and criticism. Cody bristled on his General's behalf, and would have given Fox the dressing down he so richly deserved for that comment, but Kenobi got there first.

His General sighed heavily, and his next words were bitter. "The Jedi Order simply doesn't have the manpower to follow up on a cold case for literal decades, Commander Fox. When no solid leads turned up for six months, the High Council had little choice but to recall its investigating team. They were needed elsewhere. Kit, if I'd had _any idea_..."

Kit -- Cody made a note to find out his surname at some point -- wrapped himself around General Kenobi this time, offering comfort when Kenobi trailed off, looking distressed. "It had to stay a secret, just between us. Master said so."

"Where is your master, Kit? I'd like to talk to them." Kenobi tried to gently work the most likely angle. Cody approved. There was no need to spook the nautolan and risk him refusing to say anything else.

"He's dead, Obi," Kit replied, mournful. "I miss him."

Kark. There went that lead.

"What was his name, Kit? Who was it?" General Kenobi prompted him carefully. "If he's dead, he should be mourned properly at the Temple, as is his right."

 _Regardless of whether he took an underage initiate on a dangerous unauthorised mission,_ Cody filled in. "General," he put in, "if I might make a suggestion."

"Yes, Cody?" Kenobi turned to face him.

"This is a conversation that the two of you should have back at base. We need to coordinate the rest of the search, and that seems like something that Kit might want to talk about privately."

"Of course, you're right, Cody. Come, old friend, let me take you back to our base, where we can sort all this out. The High Council will wish to speak to you, and that will definitely call for a bit more privacy than can be had out here."

Kit hesitated.

"What's wrong, Kit?" Monnk asked, turning to face the nautolan and reaching out to him.

Kit reached back, quick as a striking sea snake, and grabbed at Monnk's forearm, clearly grateful for the offered comfort and touch. "I... it's been many years since I've been around so many people -- since I've been back to the Temple. I-- It's--"

"Overwhelming?" Kenobi offered. "I can shield you, if that would help."

Kit shrugged. "Strange. Uncomfortable. And my duty is here. If I leave, who will keep the Darklings in check?"

"Once the High Council hears what you have to say, I have little doubt that the Darklings will be dealt with, but, Kit, we need to get you back to the Temple and talk to the Council about this. They need your report and we need to clear your name. The accusations leveled at you are... disturbing to say the least."

"Accusations? What is it that I've supposedly done?"

"There is a worrying number of tales spreading through this city sector about a monster -- which likely meant you -- killing anyone who ventured into these waters," Kenobi argued his point as eloquently as ever, "and I have no wish to see any friend of mine falsely accused of something as horrific as that."

"That was the creatures in the water that got twisted by the Dark. I did what I could to save the victims, but often by the time I could get to them they had already rejoined the Force. These troopers of yours are the only ones who've successfully managed to kill one, so far. Fox, in particular, was very effective."

With that, Kit karking _beamed proudly_ at Commander Fox, whose expression went unexpectedly soft and pleased.

And then Fox cleared his throat and asked the obvious question, an angry growl only barely hidden under his words as he refocused his attention on the situation. "General Kenobi, sir? Are there any other missing _jetii_ younglings that the Guard has -- for whatever reason -- not been informed about?"

"I'll see to it personally that you get read in, Commander Fox. I agree; that's an oversight that must be remedied," Kenobi agreed, and Cody thanked the karking stars that he'd been assigned to a General that actually could be bothered to look into such things. Most were simply overwhelmed by their new responsibilities as officers in the GAR, granted, but that was no excuse for not learning how to delegate properly, in his considered opinion.

Kit made a mournful sound, then. "I guess I'll go with you, then. But--"

The nautolan turned pleading eyes on Commander Fox, then, and Cody was absolutely stunned to see his stern, stubborn, and generally unapproachable _vod'ika_ fold like wet flimsi. "It'll be alright, Kit," Fox said, sounding like that expression had knocked him for a loop that he had yet to recover from, "I'll go with you."

Unable to keep his jaw from dropping, Cody spared a moment to be glad he was still wearing his bucket.

"Excellent, off we go, then," Kenobi started verbally chivvying them back into the speeders without wasting another moment. "Thank you for offering, Fox."

"Might as well keep an eye on the situation, General Kenobi," Fox replied, not quite hiding his discomfort at the knowledge of what he'd just done. "You and your High Council can talk to Kit, and then get me up to speed on your unsolved missing persons cases. It's simply more efficient that way. No need to schedule two separate meetings."

Monnk snickered, echoing the disbelief Cody felt, himself. "Of course it is, Fox'ika."

Kit suddenly balked. "Wait," he said, refusing to move another span, "will we be gone long? I can't abandon Rem."

"Who's Rem?" Commander Thorn asked, breaking his silence.

Kit shrugged. "My best friend. She lives in a tank in my cave."

Cody swore internally. "Another missing Jedi?"

"What? No no, I'll go get her, you'll see. Wait here." Kit demanded, and then eeled away from Fox and vanished into the dark waters of the Black Lagoon without so much as a ripple.

"Well," Cody said into the silence that followed. "That conversation didn't go as I'd expected."

"I find I must agree, Cody," Kenobi said, staring at the waters where Kit had just slipped away from them, like a dream that had been confronted by daylight. "I certainly never thought to find Kit here, of all people."

Fox was staring at the same point in the waters, and Cody just knew his _vod'ika_ was caught between relief and disappointment that Kit had let him go. That was an expression that every shiny wore at some point, once they'd discovered what their deece was for.

If the whole situation hadn't been another cluster migraine just waiting to happen, the whole thing would have been hilarious, Cody reflected, with a shake of his head and a pained sigh. "You two _or'dinii_ are karking lucky you discovered something big enough to counteract all the _osik_ you pulled getting here."

Commander Fox scowled, still sans bucket, and stepped daringly up until they were toe-to-toe. "Look, _sir_ ," he said, tone hard and words clipped, "we saw something that had to be investigated: a creature that could have been responsible for this whole mess. And we were right. We did find what we were looking for, and we killed it. Yes, there are more, and they'll have to be taken care of, but we also turned up an additional asset of importance. It was a calculated risk. And may I remind you that, on this planet, outside the Jedi Temple, _I_ am the one who knows this terrain the best, and _I'm_ the one who has to deal with the _rampant gruesome murders_."

"And, like that, the Commander is back to normal," Thorn muttered quietly.

"Is it too late to want Kit to come back?" Monnk replied with a sigh of acknowledgment.

Fox was too professional to turn and glare at them, but Cody saw the way his fists clenched.

"If you think you have a monopoly on misery and _gruesome deaths,_ Fox'ika," Cody shot back in kind, "think again. Front line fighting is nothing like the holofilms portray it. But your points are well made. Now, get the kriff out of my face before I break yours for you, _Vod_."

Luckily for Fox, that was the moment Kit picked to reappear, an improvised container full of water in his hands as he leapt gracefully back up out of the water to land in a crouch roughly a meter in front of them. The nautolan took one look at them and rolled his eyes at them. "You troopers are always fighting," he scolded them, turning dark disapproving eyes on them and Cody felt about a span tall.

Kark, that was impressive. Not even General Kenobi could do that so easily.

Fox made an almost inaudible pained sound, then managed to regain his equilibrium long enough to demand, "Is anyone going to give Kit something to wear?"

The troopers under his command exchanged looks. "Sir, all we have on us is our aquatic field kit. Anything we have that remotely resembles clothes is back at base," Thorn answered.

"I'm wearing clothes anyway," Kit pointed out, drawing everyone's attention back to said 'clothes', which consisted of a fairly broad belt with a number of pouches on it, and a very skimpy thong that only barely covered the relevant areas of his groin.

"That tiny scrap of cloth barely qualifies as underwear," Fox retorted, and Kit smirked at him.

"Anything more than that would make swimming difficult," he said, his tone reasonable and words actually true enough that it was difficult to argue the point.

"He's always dressed like that," General Kenobi put in, hiding his amusement as best he could. "It made our crèche master despair. I take it that's Rem?" he asked, gesturing to the makeshift container in Kit's hands.

Kit grinned and reached into it, pulling out one of the strangest looking creatures Cody had ever seen. It was about the size of Kit’s hand, and it sported a small, brown shell, a sharply pointed tail, and a whole lot of little legs. It was weirdly cute. "This is Rem," he said proudly. "She's called a triops."

That species name sounded familiar. "Aren't those marketed as pets for younglings?" Cody asked him.

"They're just as fun for adults to raise," Kit told him.

General Kenobi shook his head, and reached for the shoulders of his robe. "Here, we can protect the delicate sensibilities of the troopers if I lend you my robe, Kit," he offered. "Put Rem back in the water so she doesn't dry out, and we'll get underway."

"Aw, but Fox turns the best shade of red whenever he's reminded that he can see most of me."

No one but another _Vod_ would have been able to see it, but Fox's expression very clearly telegraphed 'just karking kill me now and get it over with'.

Monnk snickered, and Cody desperately hoped at least one of his men was recording this.

"Alright, _Vod'e_ ," Cody decided he needed to give the men a kick to get them back into the speeders. "We're moving out. Fox, you and your troopers are with General Kenobi. Monnk and his men are going to ride with me." 

As they followed orders and climbed into the speeders, Cody overheard Fox grumble, "Why does my life turn into this ridiculous farcical kind of nonsense anytime you're in the same galactic sector as me, Monnk?"

"You know you love it. It keeps your life interesting," Monnk shot back.

"I'd prefer it boring." Fox glared at Monnk, who shrugged it off without seeming to feel it.

"Ahh, but then I wouldn't have met you, Monnk, my new friend. Nor you, lotus blossom. That would have been a shame," Kit interjected.

That pet name, Cody decided as he promptly edited Fox's handle in the directory of his text comm, made up for approximately 56% of this insanity.

Monnk all but doubled over, wheezing, as he openly laughed at Fox's new moniker.

Cody was pretty sure he saw General Kenobi suppress his own laughter. "Come on, _Vod'e_ ," he snapped out, spurring on whoever hadn't gotten into a speeder yet, "load up! We've wasted more than enough time down here."

"Sir, yes sir!" Most of them saluted. Fox pointedly refused to, and Monnk was too busy trying to breathe through his cackling. Cody made a note to make sure their next few missions were as irritating and boring -- and as far away from one another -- as physically possible.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: The triops is a real thing, and named after my friend Remi who sent me [this video of one.](https://imgur.com/U26CJ8y.mp4)
> 
> \--- Mando’a Glossary ---
> 
>  **Di'kut** \- n. idiot; plural: di'kut'e  
>  **Dini'la** \- adj. insane
> 
>  **Jare'la** \- adj. stupidly oblivious of danger, asking for it
> 
>  **Or'dinii** \- n. fool; moron  
>  **Osik** \- dung (impolite)
> 
>  **shabuir** \- n. jerk, but a lot stronger; an extreme insult  
>  **Shebs** \- n. Buttocks; plural: shebse
> 
>  **Vod** \- n. gender neutral word for brother/sister; plural: Vod'e  
>  **Vod’ika** \- n. little brother/sister; plural: vod'ike


	3. Chapter 3

\--- POV: Mace Windu ---

“Greetings, masters. I am Knight Kit Fisto.” The nautolan was _brimming_ with Light. His Force presence wandered over them all, tasting their auras with a childlike wonder and curiosity, lingering on those he seemed to recognize. He wore a clearly borrowed robe that had been fastened tight up his front. From the looks of things, there wasn’t much under it. His only possession of note was a sharpened metal board with a hilt fused to it that had been slung over his back, hanging in place from a chain that was clipped to it. 

Just looking at it made Mace want to crack his back. 

Knight Fisto bowed to them. 

Or did something like a bow, considering he was partially wrapped around Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard. 

Commander Fox had his helmet off, an event that Mace had never actually seen before. Force, but the man looked tired. There were dark hollows under his eyes and some kind of scarring that ran across the side of his head, breaking up the regulation trim of his short hair cut. For all that his expression was stoic, he radiated a mix of pleasure, embarrassment, and protectiveness in the Force.

Unsurprisingly, it was all focused on Kit Fisto.

Knight Kit Fisto. Who’d disappeared from the creches when he was an initiate.

“Knight, eh?” Master Yoda said. “Remember you as an initiate, I do. Approve your trials, we did not.” He emphasized the point with a prodding gesture from his gimmer stick. 

Kit blinked at him and grinned. “Ah, but field knightings can and have happened in the past, Master Yoda. It is _unusual_ certainly, but my master made sure that I was well trained in all the relevant skills.”

“And who was your master?” Master Plo asked. His clawed hands were steepled in front of him and neither his masked face nor his Force signature betrayed any hint of his thoughts.

“Master Ve’r Sando,” Kit answered promptly.

Mace searched his memory, and then shook his head. “I’ve never heard of him.”

“Know him, I did,” Master Yaddle announced. Her large ears curled downward in sadness and she heaved a heavy sigh. “Disappear he did, as an initiate, many years ago.”

“Are you saying that this is a _pattern_?” Obi-Wan didn’t quite snap. “How many initiates do we lose this way?”

“Very rare, it is, yes,” Master Yoda said. “Searches are done, each time. Sometimes, initiates sneak out, as all initiates try to do at least once.” That was said with a glare towards Obi-Wan, who Mace damn well knew had snuck out of the Temple as a padawan. 

He knew, because he’d been involved. 

Obi-Wan just looked at Master Yoda with a pleasant, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-his-mouth expression. 

“Quickly, those younglings are found,” Master Yoda continued. “Some, lost on Illum, are. Dangerous, the search for a new kyber crystal is. Not all succeed in conquering the Darkness within. Padawans, also, difficult times have. As we all know.”

“That’s different from being kidnapped from the Temple creches,” Master Gallia said. A small frown played on her lips. 

“Master Ve’r was part of a long line of knights, sword to protect the Force rifts under Coruscant,” Kit said. “I was chosen for my race and for my aptitude with the Force. I have not yet attempted my trials of mastery -- I haven’t had the time to attempt it -- but I feel I am ready. I would have chosen my own student, soon, to carry on the tradition.”

A shatterpoint started to needle along Mace’s senses. The longer the conversation went on, the bigger the shatterpoint became. Their actions here would change… everything. _Somehow_.

“How would you conduct such trials?” Obi-Wan asked. “You said your master was dead.”

The sensation of bright love-curiosity-greeting dimmed a bit as Kit visibly drooped. 

“He has rejoined the Force,” Kit said sadly. He rested his head on Commander Fox’s shoulder and let out a soft warble. “Though he is gone, I have our teaching holocrons safe in my cave, and when there is time, I can commune with the Force.”

The level of contact that was going on between Kit and Commander Fox was most unusual. Jedi did not show their emotions so openly. 

But… if Kit had spent the last twenty five years in an underwater cave deep under Coruscant, it seemed pretty likely that he hadn’t had much training in social mores. Mace also worried about touch starvation.

At least Commander Fox felt willing to bear the contact. He’d all but bullied his way into the meeting and had an arm wrapped around Kit’s waist. 

“Holocrons?” Obi-Wan asked.

Kit nodded. “They are safe. You needn’t worry about them.”

Mace shared a quick glance with Obi-Wan. Their _safety_ wasn’t at all what Obi-Wan was worried about. That statement also begged the question, what were those holocrons safe _from_?

“When did you become a High Councilor, Obi-Wan?” Kit asked. His large, dark eyes blinked and he leaned forward a little. That sense of love-curiosity was back in the Force.

“Just a year or so ago, my friend. Near the start of the war.” Obi-Wan’s smile was a touch strained. 

For good reason. It had been a difficult time for them all.

“What war?”

Mace shook his head. “We’ll catch you up on that after we debrief you. For now, we need to know more about what happened to you.”

“There’s not much to tell, I’m afraid. I learned. I trained. I fight the Darklings and monitor the Dark Force Rifts. Sometimes I trade with the land dwellers. Poison seeps into the ground and water from above. I stem the tide and cleanse what I can.” He grimaced and rubbed his cheek against Commander Fox’s pauldron. “It has become significantly more difficult in the past couple of years. The poison and waste flow is increasing, and something is feeding the Dark. I have tried to heal the Rifts, but… I am no sorcerer.”

He gave them all another awkward half-bow. “Forgive me, masters, I have failed in my duty.”

“No,” Mace said immediately. “If what you say is true, you’ve been dealing with a threat we didn’t even know existed.”

“But _why_?” Obi-Wan asked. “Why keep this duty a secret? And what has been ‘feeding the Dark’?”

“It could be the war,” Master Gallia offered. “The Force has grown clouded and Grey, the longer the war lasts.”

Kit shook his head. “That which is known about can be exploited. The Rifts are kept secret as an extra security measure. I had _thought_ that at least the High Council was aware of them, but.” He shrugged. “As for this war, that sort of event would cause a slight increase in activity. There is more to it than just that. I may not be a sorcerer, but I can feel that something is deliberately _feeding_ the Rifts. I am very good at sensing the Dark, as well as shielding myself from its effects. I have to be, to survive so near them.”

“Any idea what? Or who?” Mace asked.

This was it. The shatterpoint was coming, barreling down on him like a falling star.

“Someone from Above. I am unfamiliar with the upper world, but I know the city grid coordinates,” Kit said.

“Tell me,” Commander Fox ordered him, speaking up for the first time during the meeting.

Kit rattled off some numbers. Mace knew where things were in Coruscant based on their address or the street map, not the map grid coordinates.That was relatively obscure knowledge; Commander Fox was probably the only one there who could give them an immediate answer. 

All of the color washed out of Commander Fox’s face and his eyes went wide.

“Don’t keep us in suspense, Commander,” Obi-Wan said, leaning forward in his chair.

“That’s under the Senate Dome, General,” Commander Fox answered quietly.

“Who or whatever is doing it, lives there.” Kit said with a shrug.

Something cracked in the Force as that shatterpoint was obliterated. Mace could feel the tsunami of changes wash out and away from that room, out into the galaxy. 

“The senate,” Master Gallia whispered. “That’s…” She shook her head.

Mace rubbed the space in between his eyebrows in an effort to stave off the faint ache that the destroyed shatterpoint had given him. For a decision that large, he should have felt like he’d been hit with a sledgehammer. But all he got was an irritating pinch. The Force itself felt a little Lighter.

“Investigate this, we should,” Master Yoda said. “Immediately.”

“Agreed.” Mace nodded. Seeing nods all around the room, he looked at Kit. “Knight Fisto, we of the Council thank you for your service and for bringing us this information. We will contact Master Jocasta Nu and request her expertise in assembling a group to return to the Black Lagoon to help you close the Rifts. You will be reentered into the Temple roll, and given a room and supplies. Once you're settled, we’ll begin testing you on your proficiencies.”

Kit looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. His hands tightened on Commander Fox’s armor. “But… my duty…”

“You no longer have to carry that burden alone, my old friend,” Obi-Wan said with a soft smile. “You’ll have support, which means you’ll also get time off, as well. A chance to renew acquaintances and, perhaps, see a healer if need be?”

That last bit was said delicately. Mace could see the telltale signs of old scarring on the skin that was visible around the edges of Kit’s robe. A general health check up would be a must, and they could slip in some visits with a mind-healer at the same time. 

Kit lit up like it was Life Day come early, and turned to hug Commander Fox. “Lotus flower! I could visit you! You could visit me. Would you like to come see my favorite rock?”

 _Lotus flower_.

Mace slowly blinked through the processing of that pet name. 

Commander Fox staggered back and forth under the force of Kit’s hug, and gently, if awkwardly, patted Kit’s back, all while grimacing. “That is _not_ an acceptable pick up line.”

Kit smirked at him. “Perhaps not. But did it work?”

From the look on Commander Fox’s face, it probably had. 

Mace smothered his amusement. A little stress relief and time off would probably be good for the both of them. 

“You’ll have some down time as soon as you’re cleared by the Halls of Healing,” he said. Then he eyed that ridiculous and obviously hand-made sword on Kit’s back. “Did you keep up on your ‘saber forms?”

Kit nodded. “I had just made my first ‘saber before I was chosen as a padawan --” _kriffing kidnapped_ , Mace added mentally, “-- and it served me well for many years. Eventually, it wore out. After that I used my master’s ‘saber.” The green skin of Kit’s face turned darker and tinged with mauve, and his Force presence echoed with mild embarrassment. “I’m afraid that Master Ve’r’s lightsaber was destroyed a few months ago. I’ve been using this since then.” He indicated the weapon on his back. 

“We’ve got extra crystals and parts in our workshop,” Mace said. “And then I want to see for myself how much work you need.”

“Yes, master,” Kit said, bowing his head towards Mace. 

“In the meantime, Commander Fox, we need to do some discreet investigation of the Senate Dome.”

“Yes, sir.” Commander Fox saluted. Or tried to. 

Kit clung a little tighter and wilted a little.

“Everything alright, Kit?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Yes. It’s just…” Kit eyed them all. “This is the most sentient minds I’ve been near since my master chose me. My shields are fine,” he hastened to assure them. “It’s just a bit… overwhelming to be near so many people. Especially on land.”

The clinging took on new meaning. Mace’s heart went out to Kit. 

“The Temple is very busy,” Obi-Wan admitted with a slightly concerned looking smile.

Kit shook his head. “Oh no. Well. Yes, that’s true. But I mean this room. All of you. Thirteen people, and with no lines of escape. This is… uncomfortable, but tolerable. Walking around the _Temple_...” He let out a slightly shaky laugh.

Commander Fox looked ready to fight them all if they told him to leave Kit alone. 

“I’m afraid we really do need Commander Fox’s expertise,” Mace said reluctantly. “If he’s willing, he could rejoin you here at the Temple later,” he offered.

Commander Fox grimaced, but nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Kit’s sad-eyes were unfair. Mace did not melt under them, he had too much self-control. Luckily, the right thing to do in this situation was what he wanted to do anyways.

“Is there anyone else you’d like to stay with you?” Mace asked.

“...Maybe Obi-Wan? If you’re free? Or my new friend Monnk?” Kit asked hopefully. “Monnk has Rem with him now, so I need to meet up with him anyways to get her back.”

“How about Commander Fox and I escort you, Commander Monnk, and Rem to the Halls of Healing for your check up? Then Commander Monnk can stay with you while you get settled,” Obi-Wan offered.

The smile Kit graced him with was bright enough that it could have powered the whole Temple for a day.

“Do you remember Bant?” Obi-Wan asked. At Kit’s hesitant nod, Obi-Wan added, “She’s a healer now. I can comm her and have her meet us. Garen is out on assignment, as is Siri, but I think that Reeft might be here on leave.”

“Thank you, Obi-Wan,” Kit said gratefully.

“Good to have you back, it is,” Master Yoda said with a firm nod. “Missed, you were.”

Kit’s smile softened as he turned to Master Yoda. “I missed you all, too.”

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- Mando’a Glossary ---
> 
>  **Di'kut** \- n. idiot; plural: di'kut'e  
>  **Dini'la** \- adj. insane
> 
>  **Jare'la** \- adj. stupidly oblivious of danger, asking for it
> 
>  **Or'dinii** \- n. fool; moron  
>  **Osik** \- dung (impolite)
> 
>  **shabuir** \- n. jerk, but a lot stronger; an extreme insult  
>  **Shebs** \- n. Buttocks; plural: shebse
> 
>  **Vod** \- n. gender neutral word for brother/sister; plural: Vod'e  
>  **Vod’ika** \- n. little brother/sister; plural: vod'ike


	4. Chapter 4

\--- POV: Commander Thorn ---

It was karking _weird_ not to have Fox lurking around Guard Headquarters all the time. He hadn't realised just how much time his _Vod_ spent there, until he'd stopped.

The reason why was the best part, though. Thorn didn't bother to bite back his grin. Monnk and his shenanigans had claimed another victim, and this time it had been a (mostly) willing one.

It had been Fox's idea to call in the SCUBA troopers. It had been Fox's idea to take advantage of their unique skillset and go on the offensive, when confronted with the sight of one of those mutant fish-monsters practically the moment they'd started to run a standard search pattern of the coordinates assigned to them.

But Monnk's uniquely bold approach to dangerous situations had turned said karking dangerous situation into one of the most hilarious stories in the history of the GAR.

Not only had Commander Fox pulled a Cody and kriffing decided that getting into a close-quarters fight with something bigger than he was, was a great idea, but he'd pulled it off, too, and everyone in the squad had the HUD footage to prove it. Thorn planned on bragging to every other karking battalion of _Vod'e_ he met about what Fox had managed to get away with, that time. Everyone seemed to think Marshal Commander Cody and Captain Rex had a monopoly on stupid plans that looked awesome, but that wasn't the case at all.

The events that had followed, though. Thorn had to shake his head in disbelief, even just at the memory of it all. Fox getting very efficiently seduced, General Kenobi showing up and working out exactly who had rescued them from the rest of the swarm of mutant fish-monsters, the speeder trip back to base and Kenobi's careful interrogation of his old friend... and listening to Cody grill Monnk for details in the background over their comms. Thorn had an idea of just what it had taken for Fox to keep a straight face and stop himself from yelling at both his immediate superior officer and Monnk. In fact, he was still impressed with Fox’s restraint even now. (Which was saying something, seeing as it had been a couple of weeks since they'd gone on that particular clusterkriff of a mission.) After a couple of minutes of silent fist-clenching and teeth-grinding on Fox's part, Kit had simply wrapped himself around the Guard Commander again and cuddled him into submission, right there in the speeder, not giving even half a kriff that they were in public. And, even more astonishingly, it had _worked_.

Thorn had been boggled by that. Fox _never_ let himself relax, when he was on shift, and even when he wasn't on duty he was one of the most tightly laced _Vod'e_ Thorn knew.

But then things had gotten even crazier. Kit had been gently escorted off to see the Jedi High Council, and Fox had gone with them, leaving Thorn to oversee the rest of the manhunt, such as it was. All of the _Vod'e_ had been fairly well convinced that the 'mystery' was solved, given the discovery of the 'Darklings', as Kit referred to them, and Kit himself.

Which... Thorn was personally still convinced that they had somehow missed out on learning about some crucial aspect of nautolan culture. The "clothes" Kit had turned up wearing were... wow. 'Revealing' was the only word that came to mind, but that didn't do the ensemble any kind of justice whatsoever. And Kit himself was all kinds of temptation, too. If Monnk hadn't gotten there first, brazenly inviting Kit to sit in his karking lap, Thorn might've tried something of the sort. Luckily, Monnk had and he hadn't, so _he_ wasn't going to be potentially court martialed for being so forward towards a Jedi.

Anyway, in the time since they'd found Kit down in the depths of the Black Lagoon, and all kinds of weird karking drama had gone down. Kit, Commander Fox, and General Kenobi had taken point on the investigation of the area under the Senate Dome that Kit had told them was the source of the darkness that had been producing the mutant fish-monsters.

The debrief on that mission had been... harrowing. Even for _Vod'e_ that hadn't been directly involved.

Kit had been right. That was the long and short of it.

And those three chosen lead investigators had succeeded in dealing with the issue, too. They'd gotten into the right area of the city sector under the Senate Dome, and found the correct building, then the right room. They'd even managed to get inside said room without much trouble. But that was where their luck had run out. The three of them had surprised the culprit in the act, catching him red-handed, and the knowledge of just who it had been...

Thorn winced away from the thought.

 _Chancellor karking Palpatine_ , the kriffing supreme commander of the GAR, had turned out to be a Sith Lord. And his master plan had been to use _karking mind control chips_ that had been implanted in all of the _Vod'e_ to seize control of the Republic for himself and murder the Jedi Order wholesale.

It had very nearly worked, too. Though he'd been caught off guard by the appearance of Kit and Kenobi, the _shabuir_ had managed to send out a communication, ordering the _Vod'e_ to kill their generals and any other _jetiise_ they might know of in their immediate area. A scuffle had ensued, then, that had left both Generals Kenobi and Fisto nursing horriffic-looking lightsabre burns in matching bacta tanks for several days afterwards, but they'd managed to call in reinforcements and the _jetiise_ had rid the galaxy of the Sith Lord. (Thorn had been amused to note that Fox had stuck to Kit like a burr the whole time he'd been in that tank, and nevermind that the nautolan had been unconscious.)

Thank kriff, Kenobi and Kit had successfully countermanded the kill order Palpatine had sent, a few eternally long minutes after it had gone out and then they'd had their autonomy back again. The sheer wrongness of that had made Thorn want to vomit. He swallowed back the bile that tried to rise in his throat again, just remembering it, and tried to shake his head to get the thought back out of his conscious mind. In the weeks since the Sith Lord's forceful removal, a few isolated reports had trickled in of _Vod'e_ that hadn't been able to resist the order and had attacked their _jetiise_. A few _Vod'e_ had been stunned, a number of others sedated. One or two _jetiise_ had picked up new blaster burn scars. But on the whole, Kenobi and Kit had been quick enough to prevent widespread damage.

He wasn't sure what the right terms were for what the _jetiise_ had had to do to purge that hidden room of darkness, once Palpatine had been dealt with -- thank kriff dealing with crazy Force _osik_ was above his paygrade -- but apparently the process of getting rid of whatever poison or whatever had been leaking out into the galaxy from there hadn't been a quick one.

In the aftermath of all that, the Jedi Order and a few of the more sympathetic Senators had been doing an investigation into the way the Guard -- and the rest of the GAR -- had been treated, not just during the war, but also on Kamino. To no one's surprise most of the mistreatment seemed to have been instigated by Palpatine himself, in one way or another. A few of the Chancellor's more rabid political supporters were still trying to claim that everything was a fabrication dreamt up by the Jedi Order to gain them sympathy, but the evidence was mounting.

For the whole length of the war, the Coruscant Guard had been looked down on by the rest of the GAR for having an ‘easy’ job. Now that some of the _osik_ that Palpatine put them through had started to surface, Thorn was enjoying his chance to wallow in his sense of vindication. They’d _all_ had a difficult time of things and now Thorn was getting the satisfaction of seeing some of his more self-righteous _Vod’e_ in the GAR eat their insults.

Not only that, but the obvious abuse had persuaded a number of senators to support their cause that otherwise wouldn't have, and helped spur on legislation in their favor.

"Commander?" Thire broke into his thoughts, and Thorn gratefully seized on the distraction.

"Yes? What is it, Lieutenant?" 

Thire grinned at him -- Thorn couldn't see it through his bucket, but he could hear it -- and said, "You're going to want to come see this, sir," then promptly ignored all protocol as he turned and hurried back out of the office that had been Fox's and was now -- hopefully only temporarily -- Thorn's. As happy as Thorn was for Fox and as pleased as he was that his _Vod_ had been appointed as the new liaison between the Guard and the Temple, there was no karking way that Thorn wanted to take over as Commander of the Guard permanently. This place was a karking nuthouse.

His curiosity rising and prompting him to move, Thorn hurriedly set aside the datapad he'd been staring at while his thoughts wandered and he mulled over the events of the last couple of weeks _again_ , then followed his subordinate out into the corridor. "Well, Thire?" He demanded, deciding to indulge his usually unflappable Lieutenant's behaviour. "What's going on?"

"General Fisto and Commander Fox are on deck."

Thorn nodded, keeping his amusement to himself for the moment. Thire had to be caught somewhere between excitement and nerves. He'd heard about their misadventures with the nautolan _jetii_ that dressed like he wanted to solicit some fun, but had yet to meet Kit in person -- neither Thire nor Stone had been with them on the mission that had unleashed the ongoing political chaos surrounding the GAR and the war they were fighting.

"That is definitely something I would not have appreciated hearing about after the fact," he said to Thire.

"Also a convenient excuse to take a break, eh, Commander?" Thire joked weakly. "General Fisto is, technically, our superior officer."

"He did also ask us to call him 'Kit'," Thorn reminded his _Vod_.

"I know, but it feels wrong to do that," Thire grumbled, "and I don't even know what to think of the fact that he and Fox are probably kriffing."

Thorn was kind of desperately jealous of Fox, frankly, but there was no way he was ever going to admit it out loud. The retribution that would doubtless come from his fellow officer would be... unpleasant. "Just keep your thoughts on that under wraps," he suggested, and then pointedly stopped talking as they entered the building's main reception area and took their places in front of the assembled _Vod'e_ already standing there in crisp formation.

They didn't have to wait long for Fox and Kit to appear.

Thorn took a moment to set his HUD to record, and, a moment later, heard the _jetii_ 's voice come drifting around a corner.

"-- you argue with me far too much, lotus blossom," Kit was saying as he turned the corner and came into view. "You and your brothers deserve every bit of media attention we can drag onto this issue. It'll help get the Senate moving."

Karking sith-hells.

Thorn took a moment to shamelessly stare at the sight General Fisto made. The nautolan was wearing a _very abbreviated_ version of the usual _jetii_ robes. The upper half was more like approximately half a vest, and left both his upper chest and his very well muscled arms exposed. And the leggings underneath. Thorn had to close his eyes for a moment and think about the least sexy thing he could come up with. The proposed tax reform bill... no, not working. The operations manual of the canteen ration bar dispenser... also not good enough. _Chancellor Palpatine doing a strip tease for General Grievous._

Ugh. What a mental image.

At least, he comforted himself, he surely wasn't the only one attempting to deal with that particular issue.

He could just tell by the set of Fox's shoulders that he was caught between acute embarrassment, pleasure, and irritation, himself. "Media attention is all well and good, Kit," he grumbled as they approached, "and you're right that it'll help kick the Senate into actually _doing something useful_ , but it's making our jobs incredibly difficult to do in any kind of efficient manner."

"Sir," he interrupted the discussion, "welcome back. It's good to see you didn't get eaten alive by the holoreporters."

Kit grinned broadly at him when he saluted them politely. "As though I would ever allow that to happen."

"Karking laserbrained idiots don't even know the difference between a commander and a captain," Fox grumbled, only mostly under his breath, and Thire snickered.

"Most civilians don't," Thorn pointed out helpfully. "What are you back here for, Commander? I thought you were stationed at the Temple now, in light of what happened with the Chancellor."

Fox didn't answer for a few long seconds.

With a shrug, Kit took up the gauntlet for him. "He missed you, so I decided we should come visit."

As Fox winced, hard enough that it was visible despite the full armour he wore, Thorn laughed delightedly. "Well, you picked a good time for it. Things have actually been fairly quiet so far this shift."

Behind him and to his right, Thire groaned theatrically. "Now you've said it, sir. We're going to be so busy for the rest of the week that we won't have time to sleep."

Kit shrugged and wrapped himself around Fox, in what Thorn very much suspected had become a habit already. "I'll keep you safe," he promised. "If any of you died, my lotus blossom would be sad."

Fox snorted in amusement as Kit winked at Thorn and grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- Mando’a Glossary ---
> 
>  **Di'kut** \- n. idiot; plural: di'kut'e  
>  **Dini'la** \- adj. insane
> 
>  **Jare'la** \- adj. stupidly oblivious of danger, asking for it
> 
>  **Or'dinii** \- n. fool; moron  
>  **Osik** \- dung (impolite)
> 
>  **shabuir** \- n. jerk, but a lot stronger; an extreme insult  
>  **Shebs** \- n. Buttocks; plural: shebse
> 
>  **Vod** \- n. gender neutral word for brother/sister; plural: Vod'e  
>  **Vod’ika** \- n. little brother/sister; plural: vod'ike


End file.
